It isn’t difficult for Todd Vance to spot other former military: the way they walk, the way they stand, the hyper-awareness of their surroundings. This is especially true of the ones whose careers were spent in infantry or special forces. The warriors.

He was one of them, and was looking for the same things — relief, understanding, connection. After six years in the Army’s infantry, including a deployment in Iraq in 2003, Vance dealt with a period of difficulty once he returned to civilian life. He chose the martial arts he’d practiced as a teen to help.

The physicality and discipline kept him alive inside, and led him to believe that maybe it could do the same for other veterans. He turned his own training regimen into P.O.W. (Pugilistic Offensive Warrior) Tactics, a nonprofit program to help veterans transition to civilian life through free mixed-martial arts classes.

“In active duty, you feel like a badass and you’re in shape and told to be a warrior. And it’s OK to be a warrior,” he said. “And when you get out, people are telling you to chill out and calm down and take these meds, and all it does is take away the warrior ethos that’s part of their sense of identity.”

There have been results in his program: He’s had students with drug problems, legal problems, on their way to winding up in prison or ending their own lives, and they’ve turned things around.

But before figuring out this program, it took Vance some time to sort himself out after leaving the military in 2005.

“When I got out, I was not a lost soul, but I was taking part in risky behavior and adrenaline-seeking behavior and combining that with substance abuse,” the 31-year-old said. Martial arts was a way to channel his energy and keep him busy.

He’d tried personal training and later a job pouring concrete, but it all became a routine. He began to imagine himself going to work, battling it out in mixed-martial arts, returning home in the evening to the television, and repeating everything over again each day. This couldn’t be the rest of his life, he told himself.

It wasn’t. He hadn’t had much patience for school before, but he was older and ready for the challenge, taking his GI Bill and earning an associate degree in history. Meanwhile, he was competing in MMA matches and working out at Undisputed in Point Loma when he noticed his future students.

“I just grabbed up all the military guys I could see and said, ‘Hey, if you want to train with me, you can pick up some stuff,’ ” he said.

“He’s an achiever, dedicated,” said Isaac Callahan, 30, who served as Vance’s machine-gunner when they were together at Fort Lewis in Washington, and deployed in Iraq. “He puts his mind to things he wants to accomplish and he does.”

Early in their friendship, Callahan recalled that Vance was the type of person who knew how to strike a balance between being a leader and a friend. Vance knew how to adjust to each situation; if they were in the middle of combat operations, they got the leader, but if they were lonely in a foreign country, they got the friend.

“Both were always there when needed, without question,” Callahan wrote in an email.

Vance needed martial arts. He needed other veterans who could relate to his transition frustrations. He needed to figure out the next step in school, and what to pursue after that. Electives in social work and psychology at community college led to work study and internships at a veterans’ center and the local Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

“I thought, ‘How can I make a career where I get to work with veterans and still do martial arts?’ ” he said.

P.O.W. Tactics

(powsd.org) was his answer. Somehow, he says, doing 1,000 push-ups or burpees and taking a kick to the face translates into accepting personal responsibility. He’s providing a regular, structured outlet for that more aggressive energy.

The class has developed a network of sorts, where a former student is a psychologist Vance can refer someone to, or another works with the VA and can help someone with disability claims. Whoever wants to step beyond the martial arts for more help can get it.

Vance is finishing up work on his bachelor’s degree in social work at Point Loma Nazarene University, has created his nonprofit and works on spreading his alternative message to others.

“I know that Todd is doing a lot of good for the guys he is working with, and they are doing a lot of good for him. ... We veterans, we need the support of each other,” Callahan wrote. “The relationship is never one-directional. ... It is what makes his program the success that it is. Todd provides the bond we seek.”

Do you know of someone in the military or a veteran who should be in the spotlight? Email lisa.deaderick@utsandiego.com